Editing Openai/69105bd2-bf28-8005-be64-eadfadc9f430 (section)

=== Assistant: Yes — and believe it or not, that’s actually true! ===
Yes — and believe it or not, that’s actually true!

The bacterium in the image, ''Cupriavidus metallidurans'', really can convert toxic gold compounds into tiny particles of elemental (metallic) gold as part of its detoxification process.

Here’s what’s happening in plain terms:
* Gold ions (Au³⁺) in soil are toxic to most organisms.
* This bacterium has special enzymes that allow it to survive in environments loaded with heavy metals.
* When it encounters those dissolved gold ions, it chemically reduces them to solid gold (Au⁰).
* The result: microscopic gold nuggets form on or near the cell surface.

So when researchers say it “poops gold,” they’re being half-serious and half-playful — the gold forms as waste the bacterium excretes after processing toxic compounds.

It’s one of nature’s wild little alchemists — a living detox machine that literally leaves gold behind.